Hi All, newbie here. I have just ordered one of those cheap Chinese engines from an online shop to get to grips with the principles and am gathering parts for my own creation. I have built a single piston lamina flow engine before using the free Airpot piston sample, but not a Stirling engine with displacer and piston.

I have just removed the compressor unit from one of those power-tanks (which I use to power my telescope) and the piston section seems almost ready made for the job of the power piston, just a few modifications and sourcing the actual piston. The piston that is already in there is not adequate for the job. If anyone else has used one of these, maybe they have some tips for me? Always willing to learn.

Hi, my friends call me Pete. I first read of Stirling Engines while in grade school (mid 60s) and the caption read, "mow your lawn from the heat of a match". I knew it took more energy to mow a lawn than a match could provide. So for a long time when I saw/heard "Stirling Engine" I thought 'ya sure' and ignored it. Then when the internet took off, I saw pictures of LTD Stirling Engines and decided to make one. I used material from the scrap bin at a friends machine shop. I only had to buy the clear plastic tube for the displacer cylinder. Yep, it ran on a cup of hot water. This was in 1998, big hit at work (engineering dept). It was dropped by someone while I was in a meeting, bending the crank, bottom plate, and cracked the displacer cylinder. Years later I re-built it spending more time to balance and fine tune it. It now runs really well on a few ice-cubes.When my LTD first ran, I started learning all I could about the different versions of Stirling & Hot-Air engines. I have gone to a lot of shows and met a lot of really smart & nice people. I have found lots of good information online, and of course lots of SCAMs. Once I learn how to post pictures and links on this site I will post what I have.---Pete

Hi Friends,I am new here and probably like most of you I have a passion about Stirling engines. I am interested to make a self start LTD Stirling engine that can do some useful work. I intend to use it for solar power applications. Probably the metronome heat engine (https://youtu.be/EaDMd4TJuuU), introduced to the public by Tibsim and Attila Blade, is the one that I am seeking for but lets see if the forum suggest something better....

Hiya. Working on my first stirling, making many mistakes, learning. ;)

Wondered: is trying to use a corrugated-sided tin can immediately a non-starter? Considering the slop allowed around the displacer, I didn't think it would make a fatal difference, but maybe I'm wrong.